Act IV: Scene VII
The Choir sing.Children of Aaron, go--depart;In never more illustrious causeBattled the zeal of your progenitors.Children of Aaron, go--depart;It is your king, your God, for whom ye fight.
One voice alone.Where are those thunderbolts Thou launchest,Great God, in Thy just wrath?Art Thou no more the jealous God?Art Thou no longer the avenger?
Another,Where, God of Jacob, are Thy former favours?Amid the horrors, that encompass us,Hearest Thou alone the voiceOf our iniquities?Art Thou no longer the forgiving God?
The Choir.Where, God of Jacob, are Thy former favours?
One voice alone.It is against Thyself that in this strifeThe armies of the wicked aim assault.Come let us cause to cease, say they,God's festivals upon the earth;And from His tiresome yoke deliver man:Let all His saints be slaughtered;His altars overthrown;That of His name and gloryNo memory may be left;That neither He, nor Christ may reign o'er us.
The Choir.Where are the thunderbolts Thou launchest,Great God, in Thy just wrath?Art Thou no more the jealous God?Art Thou no longer the avenger?
One voice alone.Sad remnant of our kings,Dear and last bloom of such a beauteous stem,Ah! 'neath the dagger of a cruel damShall we, a second time, behold thee fall?Say, did an angel at thy cradle side,Beloved prince! against thy murderersDefend thee with his care;Or in the darkness of the tombDid God re-animate thy ashes?
Another.Dost Thou, great God, impute the guilty deedsOf father and grandfather unto him?Abandon him without relenting pity?
The Choir.Where, God of Jacob, are Thy former favours?Art Thou no longer the forgiving God?
One of the daughters of the Choir (speaking).Dear sisters, hear you not the soundOf the fierce Tyrians' trumpet?
SALOMITH.I even hear the barbarous soldiers' cries,And I shiver with horror.Come, let us fly to our refugeUnder the sanctuary's shadow.
Words in this poem
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- forgiving a.
- Disposed to forgive; inclined to overlook offenses; mild; merciful; compassionate; placable; as, a forgiving temper.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act IV: Scene VII is in the public domain. This text is taken from Athaliah: A Tragedy, Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, the J. Donkersley translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jean Racine, Act IV: Scene VII, in Athaliah: A Tragedy (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/racine-athaliah/act-iv-scene-vii.html, id L26975.
Form and metre
Act IV: Scene VII is 60 lines in 11 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -ABBA- sing · departA · causeB · progenitorsB · departA · fight
- 5 A------A--- aloneA · strife · assault · they · earth · man · slaughtered · overthrownA · glory · left · us
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The Choir sing. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Children of Aaron, go--depart; | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| In never more illustrious cause | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| Battled the zeal of your progenitors. | 10 | /˘····˘/˘˘ |
| Children of Aaron, go--depart; | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| It is your king, your God, for whom ye fight. | 10 | ·········· |
| One voice alone. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Where are those thunderbolts Thou launchest, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Great God, in Thy just wrath? | 6 | ······ |
| Art Thou no more the jealous God? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Art Thou no longer the avenger? | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Another, | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Where, God of Jacob, are Thy former favours? | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Amid the horrors, that encompass us, | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Hearest Thou alone the voice | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| Of our iniquities? | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Art Thou no longer the forgiving God? | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| The Choir. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Where, God of Jacob, are Thy former favours? | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| One voice alone. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| It is against Thyself that in this strife | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| The armies of the wicked aim assault. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Come let us cause to cease, say they, | 8 | ········ |
| God's festivals upon the earth; | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| And from His tiresome yoke deliver man: | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Let all His saints be slaughtered; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| His altars overthrown; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| That of His name and glory | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| No memory may be left; | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| That neither He, nor Christ may reign o'er us. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The Choir. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Where are the thunderbolts Thou launchest, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Great God, in Thy just wrath? | 6 | ······ |
| Art Thou no more the jealous God? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Art Thou no longer the avenger? | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| One voice alone. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Sad remnant of our kings, | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Dear and last bloom of such a beauteous stem, | 11 | ·······/˘˘· |
| Ah! 'neath the dagger of a cruel dam | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Shall we, a second time, behold thee fall? | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Say, did an angel at thy cradle side, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Beloved prince! against thy murderers | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘˘ |
| Defend thee with his care; | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Or in the darkness of the tomb | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Did God re-animate thy ashes? | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Another. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Dost Thou, great God, impute the guilty deeds | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Of father and grandfather unto him? | 10 | ·/˘·/·˘··· |
| Abandon him without relenting pity? | 11 | ˘/˘···˘/˘/˘ |
| The Choir. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Where, God of Jacob, are Thy former favours? | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Art Thou no longer the forgiving God? | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| One of the daughters of the Choir (speaking). | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Dear sisters, hear you not the sound | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Of the fierce Tyrians' trumpet? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| SALOMITH. | 3 | ··· |
| I even hear the barbarous soldiers' cries, | 10 | ·/··/˘˘/˘· |
| And I shiver with horror. | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Come, let us fly to our refuge | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Under the sanctuary's shadow. | 9 | ···/˘·˘/· |
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